the state of the welcome to "world news." tonight, from the nation's capital. and it is a frozen nation. parts of this country, facing a once-in-a-generation storm. the national guard called to duty in the deep south. and already, more than 200 accidents in 1 city alone. state of the union. can president obama put more money in the pockets of middle-class americans? seasick. news about the way the virus spread on that cruise ship. and what the company told passengers that now has them even more upset. and speed trap. are the speed cameras getting it wrong? look at this car, stopped at the light. but the camera says he was speeding. tonight, drivers fight back.

and a good evening to you on this tuesday night. we are here in washington, d.c. for the president's state of the union address. and one thing is certain, tonight, this union is in the grip of a deep freeze. more than 140 million americans in 24 states with a big chill, the slick ice and a scramble for help. as tonight, we take you down south, where the palm trees are frozen and the fountains are icicles. abc's steve osunsami standing by in greenville, north carolina. >> reporter: first, a blizzard. and now, brutal cold for parts of the midwest. windchills as low as 40 below. the first time in years the south is really feeling it, too. governors sending in the national guard to deal with a rare snow and ice storm. as soon as the first snowflakes fell, school officials across nine southern states started cancelling classes. the icy roads here, no place for a school bus. outside asheville, north carolina, six teenagers were on

the bus ride home when they flipped the on the ice. and one of them had to be hospitalized. >> just come around the curb. just slid off in the ditch. >> reporter: tonight, schoolchildren in alabama are stuck at school. the roads, too dangerous for parents to come get them. >> if you trust your teacher to take care of your child during the day, they will be taken care of tonight. >> reporter: this was a freeway in austin, texas, today. police here reporting more than 214 accidents and counting. >> passed about ten wrecks on the way here. >> reporter: in new orleans, where the city doesn't even own a single salt truck or snowplow, they're calling this their worst winter storm in at least ten years. >> winter storms of this nature are very, very unpredictable. and are to be respected. >> reporter: around atlanta, the highways were a mess. >> i haven't seen it like this in years. >> reporter: families who emptied grocery stores spent hours trying to get home on the icy roads. >> i'd advise, if you ain't got to be out, stay at home. >> reporter: for cities like wilmington, north carolina,

myrtle beach, charleston, this is their first measurable snow in years. and some areas could see between six and ten inches. greenville, north carolina, is expecting snow all night. and they only have three snowplows. the city of new york has dozens, if not hundreds of snowplows. you have how many? >> three. >> reporter: three. >> we do hurricanes. we don't do snow. >> reporter: just yesterday, it was 65 degrees here. here are those three snowplows here in greenville, waiting for the snow. it's starting to sleet already. governors across the south, tonight, declaring states of emergency, trying to get resources like these to the places where they're most needed. diane? >> as you were saying, steve, it's once in a generation. thank you. so, is there any relief in sight? let's go to abc's meteorologist, ginger zee, now, with the answer. ginger? >> diane, that's the question everyone is asking. as you see the ice chunks floating on the hudson river behind me, i have an answer. yes, relief is in sight. but we've got to get through that storm first.

let's talk about it, as that low pressure system slides across the southeast. it will eventually pull away tomorrow morning. you can see the coastal carolinas getting a little of the snow and freezing rain mix. and then, it is the windchill that settles in. that's going to be the headline early for so many people. really, the eastern two-thirds of the nation, that's the brunt of the cold. and yes, that white color is zero, dipping into the deep south. but places like atlanta, that will struggle to make it to freezing, as we go into your wednesday, will be 60 by the weekend. diane? >> okay. thank you, ginger. and also, to steve again. as we said, we are here in a very cold washington, d.c., tonight, for the president's state of the union address. he's about to announce ideas for his final three years. so, is he fed up with congress? will he go it alone? here's abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl. >> reporter: taking a quick break from speech prep, president obama got a taste of the frigid washington weather. >> good thing the speech is inside. >> reporter: it's not just the

weather that is cold. obama has the lowest average approval rating of any president after five years in office. the white house sees tonight as a chance to get things back on track. the president has spent the last week refining his speech and practicing his delivery. one of the big themes, the president doesn't need congress to get things done. >> it's always better when you have big, bipartisan solutions in congress. but the president has tremendous authority. and he's going to use every ounce of it here. >> reporter: case in point, a push to connect 15,000 public schools, 2 million students, to broadband internet, using both private funds and money congress has appropriated. the president will promise executive action to require higher fuel standards for trucks. and to raise the minimum wage for those working on future federal contracts. but a warning from republican speaker of the house john boehner, who told reporters today, if the president tries to ignore congress, he's going to

run into a brick wall. we're not going to sit here and let the president trample over us. the president also hopes to inspire tonight. he and the first lady have invited some genuine american heroes. boston bombing victim, jeff bauman and carlos arredondo, who helped save his life. boston strong personified. and antoinette tuff, the bookkeeper who prevented a potential elementary school massacre by talking a would-be shooter into surrendering. the white house has just released a few excerpts of the president's speech. and in these, you see a real note of determination and defiance. one excerpt saying, america does not stand still. and neither will i. so, wherever and whenever i can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more american families, that's what i'm going to do. that, a message, obviously, diane, right to republicans, who have successfully blocked almost everything he's wanted to get passed over the past three years. >> and we'll be watching what happens when he says that tonight. thank you, jon. we turn, now, to co-anchor of "good morning america,"

george stephanopoulos. george, what's the big picture for everyone at home tonight? >> the big picture is the president is coming into the speech with the best economy of his presidency, far and away. and the worst politics of his presidency. but it's about as low as it can be coming into this speech. congress, as jon pointed out, is still against what he's doing. and the country has given up on all of them. they're fed up with everybody in washington. he has to do one thing tonight, convince the country that he can actually get something done. and that's why he's showing the determination jon talked about. >> and we've been looking at the pictures over the years. all these years he's been giving state of the union speeches. as you look at him and think about him, where do you think he is personally tonight walking into that room? >> a little more gray. we see that, for sure. and he's always been a measured, tempered guy. but i think you have more of that now than ever before. he comes into this speech tonight, with a clear sense of what he's done, what he can do and what he cannot do. a real sense of the limits of the presidency. >> we're going to be watching together tonight. want everybody to know at home george and i will be right here covering it all with our powerhouse political team. the president's state of the

union address beginning at 9:00 p.m. eastern. but next, now, here tonight, we do move on. last night, we told you about the mystery onboard the cruise ship. hundreds of passengers sickened by a lightning-fast virus. tonight, new clues on how it spread and what the company has offered all those passengers, their vacation ruined. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: onboard the royal caribbean "explorer of the seas," anger is spreading as fast as illness. one woman onboard sent us this picture with the caption, feel like we're in a bubble. and sad thing is, they aren't even doing the right thing for us. >> we didn't go to half our ports. there were almost -- nothing to do on the ship, the days that people were sick. >> reporter: royal caribbean has apologized they are unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting. they're offering a 50% refund for this cruise and 50% off the cost of a future cruise. >> basically, we had two good days out of ten we were promised.

>> reporter: they want their money back. but experts say, it's unlikely. is this rare for people to actually receive full compensation? >> the cruise lines don't have to compensate you at all. when they decide to compensate passengers, it's, so to speak, out of the goodness of their hearts. >> reporter: the stomach bug believed to be the norovirus is highly contagious. each infected person generally passes it along to as many as three other people. and so on and so on. leading to as many as 100 cases by the third day of an outbreak. on this cruise, the first case was reported last tuesday. by sunday, the number of people infected had reached 303. 24 hours later, that number more than doubled, with 626 people reported ill. today, that number shot up to 672 people. for the thousands on that ship, it's a vacation that simply can't end soon enough. linsey davis, abc news, new york. and we move, next, tonight, to a big medicine headline.

for millions of americans using pain relievers. today, a new government report said the over-the-counter drug aleve, may be labeled the safest pain reliever for anyone with heart issues. the fda found the key ingredient naproxen, may provide a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, than a rival medication, ibuprofen, sold as advil and motrin. and with the super bowl now just days away, a startling discovery. a lot of counterfeit tickets to the big game are being sold. so, is there any way to catch them? abc's gio benitez, now, with the secret and the warning. >> reporter: fans, fireworks, and tonight, with the super bowl just days away, fakes. bogus tickets seized overnight. they look so real, investigators believe they could've gotten someone into the stadium sunday. there was some really advanced technology there to make these tickets. >> some of the most advanced counterfeiting techniques i've ever seen.

>> reporter: take a look. this is a real super bowl ticket, side-by-side, with the fake one. they have the same artwork, the same foil-embossed logo, even an identical diamond-shaped watermark. so, how do you tell the difference? >> on the back of the ticket there's a graphic that's printed with something called thermochromic ink. when you apply heat by rubbing it with your thumb or your hot breath, it will disappear. as soon as the ticket cools off, it will reappear again. >> reporter: every year, as many as 200 super bowl fans are scammed with fake tickets. they are sold online, on sites like craigslist and in person, on the streets before game. vinny pasculli bought a phony super bowl ticket two years ago for 1,900 bucks. >> the pressure to get these tickets. and you see something, and, you know, you go for the deal. >> reporter: but as the counterfeits get more sophisticated so does the nfl. >> we're hoping to stay ahead of the counterfeiters as much as we can. >> reporter: this year's tickets have about 15 secret high-tech markings that the nfl hopes ticket counterfeiters never

find. and heads up -- 3,800 real tickets are still up for sale tonight. gio benitez, abc news, new york. and someone got a kind of royal reality check today. the queen of england and her family. a scolding, new report warning them to start tightening the belt. they have apparently run through a fortune. here's abc's terry moran. >> reporter: think of the british royal family and you think of opulence and grandeur and magnificent events. you would never believe they're nearly broke. but they are. well, not them personally. but the royal household. the official department that runs all of their palaces and properties, 360 buildings, thousands of employees. a scathing report in the british parliament found that the queen's public accounts are down to less than a couple of million bucks. privately, she's still fabulously rich. but her public finances and her palace are a mess. buckingham palace looks great on the outside. but behind the scenes, this place is in desperate need of repairs. the roof is leaking.

central heating needs replacing. and chunks of stone are falling off the building, endangering members of the royal family. the report demanded that the queen and her family tighten their belts and find ways to make more money, like by bringing paying tourists into buckingham palace. only open 78 days a year now. in contrast, the white house is open all year round. the queen's defenders say the royals make britain billions every year in tourism. and that elizabeth herself is a frugal housekeeper. >> at night, looking around the palace, and if there's some lights on, she goes and switches them off. >> reporter: she could always hock the jewelry. terry moran, abc news, london. and up next, right here tonight, caught on camera. drivers fighting back against speed cameras. do they sometimes say you're driving too fast, even if your car isn't moving? see it when we're back in two minutes. your eyes really are unique.

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and next, here, tonight, caught in the act. almost two dozen states use traffic cameras to catch drivers speeding and running red lights. big tickets, big fines. well, tonight, surprising, new questions about how often those cameras are wrong. one city's launched an investigation because of so many mistakes. and abc's senior national correspondent, jim avila, shows you what you can do. >> reporter: it's the flash out of nowhere, when you don't expect it. sometimes when you don't deserve it. a baltimore intersection. this driver has clearly stopped. but the unmanned speed camera cites this car, brake lights on and traffic whizzing in front of it, for going 38 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. a costly mistake at 40 bucks a ticket. among the documented 10% error rate for speed cameras in baltimore. some individual cameras off by as much as 50%, according to an

audit leaked to "the baltimore sun" that has the city council investigating. nationwide, about half the states use cameras. cheaper and easier than radar guns. but class-action suits in ohio and new york attack their reliability. los angeles stopped issuing camera tickets altogether. this maryland driver videotaped his speed, ten miles below the limit. the speed camera ticketed him for ten miles over. >> the car with the speed camera was approximately right here. >> reporter: schoolteacher erin grunden got five tickets leaving her maryland school. >> i was clocked at 51 miles per hour, which a math teacher figured out is physically impossible for me to have been going that fast. >> reporter: her 10-year-old honda couldn't reach that speed in the short distance from the school driveway to the ticket camera. in all, 22 teachers were ticketed here. >> if you give companies an incentive to ticket more, lo and behold, they will ticket more. >> reporter: california has banned per ticket fees. but advocates say cameras slow people down. some cities are using these

cameras in new and different ways. this one is set up to monitor a stop sign, not a stoplight. if you roll through the stop, it will click. costing you cash, in a flash. even when the picture doesn't tell the story. jim avila, abc news, washington. and when we come back, next, right here -- ♪ the piano man, billy joel, doing something no rock star has ever tried before, in our "instant index." imagine not getting out of bed again and again. and imagine finally taking control of your symptoms with the oxytrol for women patch. now fda approved as otc. it's safe and effective when used as directed. and it reduces frequency, urgency, and accidents. just imagine how your life could change for the better. take control with oxytrol for women.

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on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ] our "instant index," beginning with this video we saw everywhere today. did you? all of us asking, is it a hoax? is it real? a white-knuckle experiment. a test of the emergency brakes on a tank, allegedly from the dutch military. 23 volunteers, a 62-ton tank, barreling towards them at 42 miles per hour. watch the horizon and listen. as the roar gets louder, only two of the brave souls even flinch and look behind them. today, we called the dutch military to ask why? and they told us, they're looking into it. but they're as puzzled as the rest of us. and the piano man, billy joel, back in the saddle, reaching for history. ♪ even you cannot avoid >> last night, kicking off a series of concerts at new york's

madison square garden, as a kind of artist in residence. no one's tried this before. he's going to perform a concert a month, open-ended, going as long as the fans keep coming and the piano man is still up to the challenge. and we've all seen all the rock stars on the cover of "rolling stone" magazine over the years. adell, dylan, michael jackson, beyonce. now, a different version of a rock star, pope francis. the first pope to make the cover. calling him the people's pope, the magazine put it best, saying, the times, they are a-changing. and up next, music from america's songbook. ♪ this land was made for you and me ♪ >> the man who sang and helped america build a nation. afghanistan, in 2009.

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and finally tonight, we remember a songwriter who inspired generations of singers. from bob dylan, to bruce springsteen. pete seeger, his words, his banjo. urging americans to take up a hammer for civil rights and justice. abc's john donvan, now, on the man who put music to america's conscious. >> reporter: watch what pete seeger did here two years ago. where just for a moment, he stopped singing, mid-chorus. ♪ to everything turn, turn >> reporter: knowing, the words would get sung by everybody else. for the better part of a century, that was one of his goals, whether singing other people's compositions, like dylan's "a hard rain's a-gonna fall." ♪ did you see my blue-eyed son what did you see, my darling ♪ ♪ young one ♪ if i had a hammer

>> reporter: or his own, "if i had a hammer," which peter, paul and mary made famous. ♪ i got a hammer and i got a bell ♪ ♪ to everything >> reporter: or "turn, turn, turn," which was a huge hit for the byrds. ♪ a time for love >> reporter: the goal was to get everybody else up and singing. so, it was a natural, that he delivered to the civil rights movement, a song he collected from the labor movement and reworked, "we shall overcome." ♪ we shall overcome >> reporter: he saw music as a way to motivate social change. by ripe old age, he had achieved full-on icon status. a hero to springsteen, who brought him on to inaugurate a president. that was five years ago. and still, he sang, until he stopped. once again, mid-chorus, but for good. though the words, of course,

will still get sung by everybody else. john donvan, abc news, washington. and we thank you for watching tonight. we're always here at abcnews.com. join us tonight for our coverage of the president's state of the union address. coming right up. and we'll see you again on "world news" tomorrow night. ♪ i would hammer in the morning i'd hammer in the evening ♪

this is an abc news special. >> america's possibilities are limitless. >> from so much hope. >> this was a pretty shameful day for washington. >> a year of anger and dysfunction. >> this republican shutdown did not have to happen. obviously, we screwed it up. nobody is listening to your telephone calls. >> challenges abroad. >> this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force. >> and here at home. >> anybody in this country who works hard should have a fair shot at success. >> now, tonight, a chance to